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On the 1st July 2018, New York Islanders Captain, John Tavares left the Isles for the Toronto Maple Leafs, hours after officially becoming a free agent for the first time in his career. After nine years at the franchise, Tavares, the number one draft pick of 2009, was gone.
On one hand, Tavares’ stance, leaving the Islanders for Stanley Cup hopefuls, Toronto makes perfect sense. However, he was the main man at New York, revered by the fan-base and had been expected to re-sign. The lack of any real indication that Tavares was heading out the door prior to the 1st July sent shockwaves through the core of the Islanders.
However, in the shadow of this enormous setback, the Islanders have admirably done their utmost to rebuild the franchise and banish three decades of underachievement to the past.
Before Tavares departed, the Isles made the most out of their 2018 draft picks. With the 11th and 12th pick, the expectations were not high that the franchise would be able to resolve the missing pieces of their team jigsaw. However, such concerns were dismissed when the Islanders secured the excellent prospects, Oliver Wahlstrom and Noah Dobson.
Wahlstrom, a right winger scored 40 goals and made 43 assists last season for the United States Development Team. A sensational scoring threat, the Islanders prospects with Wahlstrom in the team look far higher than they did before the draft.
The six foot three inch tall, Dobson, is the perfect man to help resolve the Islanders’ leaky defence. The Isles backline conceded an average of 3.6 goals per game in 2017-18. Far from a recipe for success, that backline was a recipe for disaster. Dobson has all the attributes to help the team improve in 2018-19.
The Islanders have also made impressive moves from the top down. Lou Lamoriello, the man who enjoyed a hugely successful tenure as General Manager of the New Jersey Devils is the new President and wasted little time in dismissing General Manager, Garth Snow and Head Coach, Doug Weight.
In Weight’s place, Lamoriello secured a major coup, in gaining the services of last season’s Stanley Cup winning coach, Barry Trotz, from the Washington Capitals.
In the most recent development, yesterday on the 26th July 2018, Trotz’s Capitals colleague, Mitch Korn was named as the Islanders Director of Goaltenders. Widely regarded as the best goaltending coach in the NHL, this is a potential game-changer ahead of the new season.
The Islanders have been quiet in securing player trades, ahead of 2018-19, due mainly to Trotz wanting to evaluate his new team prior to making any major decisions. However, he has confirmed that if any big name talents who could slot right into the team become available, they would be actively pursued. It would be no surprise to see at least one or two sign for the Islanders before a puck is hit in 2018-19.
For the first time since the 1980’s, it feels as if the Islanders are a franchise with momentum building. Tavares’s departure aside, the Isles have made all the right moves off the ice in pre-season. The Islanders will be hoping that momentum will follow them to the ice, come the 3rd October when the 2018-19 NHL season gets underway.
